Christmas 2009: Challenge 3
by LadyFlamewing
Summary: Written for LiveJournal's twistedsinews, who requested a fic with the boys playing American football. I will make the appropriate disclaimer here that I know very little about how the game actually works.


"Oi - !"

Yusuke's yell cuts off rather abruptly as he goes tumbling to the ground, his feet tangled in the long grass. There's a swift kick of wind, the snap of fabric, and Hiei's flying past him in the other direction, ball tucked safely away under his arm.

The fire-demon doesn't stop moving until he reaches the other side of the grassy clearing - not that it matters much, anyway: there's not a one of them who could catch him. When he finally does slow, he turns to smirk over his shoulder.

Kurama returns the smile, though he's slightly distracted by the fact that he can practically _feel_ Yusuke's glare boring through his skin. Carefully arranging his most innocent look on his face, he turns to look in that direction.

Yusuke is sprawled on his stomach, head propped up on his arms, his dark eyes accusatory. "Something about this doesn't seem fair," he points out, rolling onto his back and levering himself to his feet. "Both demons on the same team - you guys are killing us."

Kurama refrains from pointing out that Yusuke himself is a demon now, and more powerful than either of them, and instead turns his attention to where Kuwabara is lying in the grass, chest heaving up and down. He's putting in his best effort, but there isn't much a human can do against demonic speed. With a soft laugh, Kurama moves to offer him a hand up.

"Well," he suggests, as Kuwabara takes his hand and hauls himself up again, "why don't we switch teams, then?"

He _almost_ laughs at the suspicion in Yusuke's gaze, but he's had a long time to hone his reactions. Still, it's hard - enough so that he has to turn away, cleverly concealing the smile tugging insistently at the corners of his mouth. He catches Kuwabara's gaze, though, and there's a subtle understanding that passes between them - along with the knowledge that Kurama's slim fingers are still cradled in Kuwabara's rough palm.

"I'll trade places with you - so Kuwabara will pair with me, and you can pair with Hiei."

There's a snort from the other side of the field, a shudder of the grass in a sudden wind, and Hiei is standing there, ball still tucked under his arm.

"You know that whatever team I'm on will win," the fire-demon says, tossing the ball to Kurama, who catches it easily - and with a smile.

"We'll see."

It's an odd sort of set-up they have: from what Kurama understands, this sport is generally played with teams that are much larger. But they make do with what they have (and it's enough that he's managed to convince Hiei to play, anyway), so they arrange themselves facing each other, and Kurama tosses the ball lightly into the air.

Hiei's off immediately, intercepting the ball nearly before it's had time to come down from the peak of it's path, and he's halfway down the field before anyone has much time to react. Yusuke's tailing him, and Kuwabara makes a sort of indignant squawk and takes off after them.

With an indulgent sort of sigh, Kurama simply kneels and presses a hand to the ground, his green eyes tracking Hiei. One step, two steps, and..._there_.

In a burst of energy that sends a swath of grass several feet tall shooting across the field, Kurama manages to snare Hiei in a tight web of grass shoots, bringing the fire-demon up short.

Not to be deterred, Yusuke does what he does best - he takes a risk, leaping directly into the web and bursting out the other side through what Kurama can only imagine is sheer force of will: but he has the ball cradled in his arms.

And that's when Kuwabara does something surprising. Perhaps taking a leaf out of his teammate's book, he drops to his knees, slams a palm to the ground, and releases an impressive burst of energy.

"Rei Ken!"

Smiling, Kurama helps as best he can - he nudges root systems gently out of the path of the energy, keeping Kuwabara from having to expend too much to maneuver the Rei Ken around all the fiddly twists and angles. They don't _hit_ Yusuke - he's a little too quick for that - but they get close enough: he must be distracted by putting all his effort into sprinting towards the other side of the field.

His excessive speed has another advantage for them - as he leaps back, away from Kuwabara's energy as it bursts from the ground, his feet get tangled, and he's forced to twist his body, throwing his hands out to break his fall: and the ball goes flying.

Triumphantly, Kuwabara scoops it up off the ground and lopes down the field toward Kurama, moving in long, ground-swallowing strides. But Yusuke has never needed long to recover, so he's back on his feet almost immediately, charging after the redhead.

"Kuwabara!" Kurama yells, standing and waving his hands. "Kuwabara, throw it!"

With a grace Kurama actually _envies_, Kuwabara draws his arm back and hurls the ball downfield without ever breaking stride - though Kurama definitely _doesn't_ envy him the bruises he will have after being roughly tackled by Yusuke almost immediately after the ball leaves his hands. Still, though, the throw is good, and the ball spirals through the air and lands with a stinging slap in Kurama's outstretched hands.

He spins on his heel and runs - well, _jogs_, really, because he can hear muffled blows and grunts from behind him, which probably means Kuwabara and Yusuke are scuffling and there is no one left to come after him - to the other end of the field, where he turns and looks back at the chaos.

Yusuke is just climbing off Kuwabara, dusting his hands off, and he looks downfield at Kurama and grins. Kurama tucks the ball under one slender arm and cups his hands around his mouth, just as the grass net on the other end of the field bursts into black flames.

"Do you think we ought to outlaw the use of powers?"

Yusuke flaps a dismissive hand and hollers back. "Nah. I don't know how anyone plays this without 'em, anyway - seems like it would get really boring, just running and throwing a ball around." He pauses, appearing to consider something for a moment, then shrugs carelessly. "Although, I guess the tackling part's pretty fun."

With a groan, Kuwabara clambers to his feet, rubbing a new lump on his head. "Speak for yourself," he grumbles. Kurama can't help but laugh. They may not be doing any of this right, but it's fun, at least.


End file.
